Politics & Mutants
by AniLouBenz
Summary: Eve is the senator's daughter, that is until he and Eve's mother are brutally murdered. An intervention from Turtle Titan saves her life. Leo has given up on humanity...or so he thought. And when there isn't a human left alive who truly cares, where else is there for Eve to go but into mutant arms? Science Fiction, T for language & violence. Leo/OC, promise!
1. Prologue

Hello readers! First, let me just say that, while I'm not entirely new to writing fanfics, it has been some time. I've never attempted a TMNT one though...So I ask kindly for reviews! They're not to make me feel all fuzzy inside (though they help with it). See, if this isn't as enjoyable for you to read as it is for me to write, then I'm not really doing my job, am I?

One last note: this is a typical Leo/OC, even if it doesn't seem like it. Be patient! May turn into a Turtles/OCs later...

Enjoy! (I don't own any of the TMNT characters. If I did, they would've found turtle girlfriends long ago!)

~AniLouBenz

* * *

PROLOGUE:

_Roosted high above the streets of New York City, the mighty Turtle Titan surveyed the dinner crowds like a great bird of prey. Silent and still as a statue, his eyes lighted on family after family, tourist after tourist, businessman after businesswoman. The only sign of life from him was a continual puff of foggy breath against the cool night. Always watching for danger, always listening for crime, always-_

"Mikey, I'd really wish you'd just give up the whole turtle-in-tights thing!" Barked a second form crouched to his left.

_And always supervised._ Mikey sighed. ''Dude, shut up. You're ruining the mood!''

"Oh, sorry, am I interrupting Tiny Turtle's fantasies?"

Michelangelo took his eyes off the city below just long enough to glare at his brother. He hated having a babysitter. It was bearable when it was Leo or Donny, but having Raph follow him around was the worst. He always found ways to make fun of Mikey's crime-fighting. Bless his bitter, obnoxious heart.

''Come on, can't we just call it a night already and go home?" Oh, not to mention he was a chronic whiner. Raph didn't want to be here anymore than Mikey wanted him to be, so he whined like a baby the whole time.

_Go home? So what, you can go out with Casey and smash some heads once your 'ittle brother's safe 'n sound?_ ''No,'' he said, retreating from the roof's edge, ''This block's all clear though.''

Together they waited in shadow, Raph tapping his foot impatiently while Mikey gauged which way he wanted to go next. He took a running start and leapt, enjoying the moment of mid-air suspension before landing smoothly on the next roof, Raph right behind him.

_Another part of the city safe, Turtle Titan took off across the rooftops, ever aware of possible threats..._

"You know, you could just ditch me like you want,'' Mikey teased, getting ready to spring again, "No one will know.'' _Please just leave me alone already!_

He heard Raph laugh as he flew through the air. ''This is Leo we're talking. He'll find out and I really don't need any more nag fests!'' (Leo had to give him the usual you're-older-be-responsible-and-watch-Mikey talk before they set out.) Always Raph, he had to show off and did an air-somersault at the last second.

Just as Mikey was about to retort back in favor of his case, a loud, echoing _pop!_ disturbed the air.

Both turtles stopped and listened.

Too distinct to be backfire from a truck...

And sure enough, not a second later, a scream followed.

Close. They were close.

_Turtle Titan soars into action_! Mikey took off.

"You had better not screw this up!" Was all Raph spat before setting out after him.

A hop-skippity-doo over a few more roofs had them looking down in an ally at a rather enraging scene. Three Purple Dragon thugs were terrorizing a middle-aged man and a teenage girl, both finely dressed.

There had been a woman too...had been because she was clearly dead now.

The bullet had gone through her head.

Mikey shivered. The thug holding the girl had her in a choke hold and it wasn't hard to see why. Despite her nice clothes, she was fighting him every way she could.

One of the other Dragons, the one not restraining anyone, could be heard yelling at the man, who seemed to be pleading back.

_This doesn't look good at-_

"Mikey,'' Raph hissed, ''don't just sit there, get your costumed ass into _gear_!''

The Dragon pulled a gun, aimed, and shot-

The man collapsed.

Raph pushed past him-

He was falling...

The girl screamed again, the same scream from before-

And just like that, his ninja skills kicked in. He wasn't Turtle Titan or Michelangelo anymore. He was as warrior, and these men were his enemies.

Landing in a crouch, he snatched his nun-chucks from the belt of his costume. In the corner of his eye, Raph did the same, his sais glittering in the low light. Between the two of them, a couple punches and kicks was all it took. Easy-peasy.

When Raph finally dropped the guy who had the gun, the lowlife slumped to the ground, unconscious like his despicable friends.

Silence ensued. Mikey inspected the woman, Raph the man. They exchanged identical looks.

Both dead.

''No...'' Staggering, eyes wide, the girl stared at the woman. Tears dripped from her chin, making soft _plip_s on the woman's bloodstained dress. Her own clothes were torn and rumpled, her face battered.

Mikey edged away, but there wasn't a need. She acted like she couldn't see him or Raph...which maybe she really couldn't in her shock.

Raph made the universal _let's get out of here_ motion.

Not sure what to do, Mikey extended a hand towards her, lightly touching her shoulder. She jumped like a scared animal, shied away...

And then she saw him.

He'd always considered himself attractive, for a turtle, but wasn't offended when she squeaked like a rabbit. He did, however, feel a twinge when her eyes rolled back and she fainted. He caught her before she hit the ground.

"Great,'' grunted Raph, throwing his hands up in the air and stomping around the ally. His fist slammed into a wall and he kicked a dumpster for good measure. No matter how tough Raph acted, he never took death well. None of them did. Except maybe Leo.

Mikey let him throw his fit, glad he was taking out his anger on something besides _him_. Lucky for the ally, Raph always lost steam fast. Huffing, hands still in fists, he strode back to Mikey. ''Come on, let's go tip off the cops and blow this place.''

''We can't just leave her...'' Mikey shifted her in his arms. He'd noted how young she looked. Their age, at most. Not of age... and an orphan now, if he wasn't mistaken.

''Well we can't very well take 'er home, Numbskull!" He looked at her, cradled close to Mikey's plastron, then at the bloody bodies, unconscious Dragon goons, and the filthy ally itself. By the face he was making, Raph didn't like the idea of leaving her here any more than the idea of taking her home.

_Forget you, Raph._ He'd already made up his mind. "Guess you can go have fun with Casey tonight after all. I'm going home...and _I'll_ take the blame for it."

Raph watched him disappear, a little steamed yet. But somewhere in his heart of heart's, he was somewhat proud of his baby brother. All he could do was shake his head. ''Boy...is Leo going to be _pissed._''

Back in the sewer, Mikey tried to be quiet as he slipped inside the lair. He prayed everyone had decided to turn in early. There weren't any lights on in Donny's lab; the dojo was void of the usual racket. Master Splinter's room was also dark.

The girl hadn't stirred during the trip home. Careful as possible, he laid her down on the couch. Still she didn't stir.

Not two years ago, another girl had once lain in her place. One at least five years older, with red hair.

Master Splinter hadn't been happy then; he sure as hell wouldn't be happy now. And Leo...he'd be even worse. Mikey shuddered, glad he could sleep before the shit hit the fan..._b__oy,_ was it going to hit the fan_._ He didn't even know how he was going to explain himself.

_B__etter save it for tomorrow..._

"You're home early." Arms crossed, Leonardo narrowed his eyes at his younger brother from an armchair.

Mikey yelped, feverishly imagining what he looked like, hovering over an unconscious human girl with torn clothes and bruises beginning to show on her body.

Leo didn't say anything, which was a very,_ very_ bad thing. Raph had been right.

_Aw, shell..._

_I'm_ dead_._


	2. Chapter One

**_Hello readers in Reader Land! Here's chapter uno for you! I'm thinking I'll release a chapter weekly, but it all depends on how fast I write and how busy I am...(summer is supposed to be countless hours of free time, right...? Then the hell is _my ****_summer?)  
So the prologue kind of surprised me as a writer. Funny how it works, you set out to write chapter the first and end up with something else entirely! Originally, this whole fanfic was only supposed to be from Leo and my character's perspectives. No Mikey. In fact, there wasn't supposed to even BE a prologue at all. The little devil had me rethinking all of my story, so I had to rewrite quite a bit. I don't know, you be the judge. To me, it makes more sense now how my dear character ended up passed out on the turtles' couch.  
One more thing, you're probably wondering when in the Turtle Universe this lil' story of mine takes place. I'm...not really sure myself. The turtles never really _age _in the series. But in this fanfic, they are seventeen-ish.  
Enough from me, onward my fellow Turtle fanatics!  
~AniLouBenz_**

* * *

_It all happened so fast..._

_Dad was home from the capitol, for once, so we'd gone out to celebrate. Mom had picked some fancy place with a name I couldn't pronounce._

_We were just leaving the restaurant. Dad had had to park a few blocks down and wouldn't let the bellboy go retrieve our car. Mom had wrinkled her nose, but when I complained she told me to ''Just deal with it''. Because it wasn't often that Dad was home, after all._

_Halfway to the car was when I heard them._

_Footsteps._

_Not to worry, no big deal. Except they were too close, they were hushed, and they had an on-the-prowl feel to them. Maybe I imagined it, but I thought even Dad quickened his pace._

Almost there, almost there, don't panic.

_The owners to the footsteps were right behind us._

_We passed in front of an ally and that's when they made their move._

_Hands grabbed me, dragged me off the sidewalk and into the dark. I kicked, scratched, bit._

_''Oh, I wouldn't do that Mr. Senator,'' sneered a voice._

_I realized Dad and Mom were grabbed too and Dad was putting up a huge fight._

_There was a _click.

_The guy who talked had Mom...and something metal in the hand he had at her temple. Dad kept struggling, yelling profanities I'd never heard him use before._

_''I'm warning you Mr. Senator, see what I've got? Now I'm asking you to cooperate or we might just see what this beauty can do.''_

_Dad froze; I froze. Mom stood as still as possible, not even breathing, her eyes wild._

_''That's better. See? Now why can't we get along?"_

_''What do you bastards want from me?" My father's nose was bleeding, his clothes torn. I barely glimpsed the look upon his face, but it frightened me even more than the situation._

_''I believe you know very well what we want.''_

_''If you're after money, take it! My credit cards, everything!"_

_''Don't tempt me.'' The guy grinned in mockery. ''No, let me enlighten you shall I?" Dad said nothing, so he continued, ''According to my superiors, there happens to be a bill currently headed to the senate. And my superiors were hoping to secure your vote in favor of it." The line sounded practiced, like this guy had spent time rehearsing it._

_Dad's eyes lit with recognition. His scowl deepened. ''Never.''_

_''Shame,'' was all the guy said. And then he pulled the trigger._

_Mom fell to the ground, staring up at the sky with eyes that no longer saw._

_I screamed, lashing out again at whoever the hell had me. There was a grunt when my foot made contact with a leg. His arm snaked around my neck and squeezed._

_Now, instead of asking for my father's cooperation, he was shouting at him. I couldn't hear his words over the ringing in my ears._

_Still I fought. Mom, I had to get to her!_

_There was a bang and I watched Dad go down too._

_My throat seared as I screamed again-_

''Shh! Girl, dudette! Hey!"

''NO! NO! N-!"

Someone was shaking me. I didn't want them to! They were evil! I had to get to Mom! To Dad!

''Stop yelling, you'll wake the others!"

I opened my eyes, blinking rapidly against a bright light. Above me loomed a large, green face. Half of it was covered by a strip of orange fabric...and a pair of very blue eyes were staring into mine.

Not.

Human.

A hand clamped over my mouth before I could shriek. I bit into a thick, leathery finger and it recoiled fast.

''Ouch! The shell is wrong-''

''Mikey, stop! You're scaring her more!''

I scrambled to put space between me and the thing. Which required clawing my way over...the back of a couch?

_Where the hell _am_ I?_

''...Great, Mikey, look what you've done!"

Stooped low behind the couch, I dared not move. Confusion and fear pounded in my blood. _If you can't see it, it can't see you. If you can't see it, it can't see you._

Of course, there wasn't a wall behind the damn couch. Nope, just open space that showed me a wide, circular chamber. _Where in the-? Why am I _here_?_

''I didn't mean to! How was I supposed to know she'd freak out?"

''Because _April freaked out?_''

Voices. Who was fighting about me? What was that _thing_? A whimper escaped my lips.

Silence fell, the voices had stopped. So had my breathing.

A sigh. ''Let me try...you'd better go wake Master Splinter.''

''But-''

"Don't argue, just go. Ask him if you should wake Don.''

"Fine..."

I listened for footsteps, movement, _anything._ But instead it seemed the world had gone dead on the front side of the couch. My heart skipped a beat, ratcheting up my ''fight or flight'' response.

_What am I going to do?_

Leo sent Mikey off with a glare. He couldn't _believe_ what his brother had done. Bringing home another human-a young girl at that-knowing full well the risk involved. Exposing their whole family _yet again_!

But that would have to wait. Once this was all settled, both Mikey and Raph were getting interrogations and an _extreme_ lesson from him _on top_ of Master Splinter's.

Where the hell was Raph anyway? Never mind, he'd deal with him later. Right now he had to address the problem hiding behind their couch.

_Keep calm, Leonardo_, he told himself as he crept toward the piece of furniture, _remember how April was. Slow and calm. Don't make any sudden movements._

His mind involuntarily presented him with an image: a fox hunched low, circling a rabbit taking refuge in the undergrowth. It bothered him that he was thinking that way, especially when the ''rabbit'' happened to be an unarmed girl...who could quite possibly have a very large mouth and destroy everything he held dear.

_Enough! You need to focus!_

With the deliberate slowness and fluidity only a ninja could possess, Leo slid around the worn sofa, finding a pathetic human form curled on the floor. He took pity on her and wondered once more why Michelangelo had decided it was a good idea to bring her home. Easing down to her level, he waited.

Maybe she sensed him, because not a moment after she raised her head out of her arms. A high-pitched yelp escaped her lips and she back-pedaled fast, putting the couch between them again.

_''Stay away from me!"_

Leo stood too, but did not make to move any closer. Clearly this was going to be a bigger challenge than he imagined. _Keep it calm. If you're calm, she will follow suit._

''Take it easy,'' he soothed, "It's going to be okay."

He could practically hear the _''It...TALKED''_ running through her mind.

"Wh...What the hell _are_ you?"

''...A friend.''

"As if!" Her eyes darted between Leo and her surroundings, unable to look at him, yet afraid to look away. ''Where am I? Why am I here?"

_Be honest, yet discrete. Master Splinter may not want her to know too much._ ''You are in the home of my family. I don't know why my brother brought you here."

Something dawned on her and she pointed a shaking finger at him. ''You were there...two of you." A dark look pinched her features; the expression was all too familiar to Leo. Anger, fear, loss, combined into one. "What happened to my parents?"

"I don't know, I wasn't there. The two you're thinking of are probably my brothers.''

"We were attacked and then...they _killed_ them!''

That sentence didn't make sense to Leo. "Who killed who?"

She jabbed a finger at him again. "You guys killed the ones who attacked us!"

He raised his nonexistent eyebrows. Mikey and Raph kill someone? Very unlikely considering neither could handle death in general. Mikey would stop joking and just stare off into space. Raph would get violent...or more violent, throwing tantrums and disappearing for hours at a time.

Oh, wait.

"What happened, exactly?" He asked, but the girl just shook her head. Tears were leaving trails down her cheeks and she was hugging her chest.

_Aw, no._ Leo wasn't an expert in the area of tears, nor the female race. None if them really were, although Donatello could ramble all day about the scientific side of both.

He made to move closer to her to...console her in some way.

"Stay _away_ from me!"

"Enough, children.'' Leo didn't have to see for himself that Mikey had returned with Master Splinter. He'd recognize his father's voice anywhere. Donny's sudden appearance at his side did perk his interest though.

_Guess she's meeting the whole family...Well, all except for Raph._

''Young lady,'' said Splinter, coming to stand face-to-face with the girl and disregarding her reaction to the prospect of a robe-clad, talking rat, "I apologize if your welcome into our home has not been a warm one.''

Mikey squirmed with embarrassment.

''Rest assured we wish you no ill-will.''

Leo marveled at the lulling effect his father had on her, where he did not. Already the girl's tensed muscles had begun to slacken. She scrubbed away the tears and met Splinter's eyes without flinching.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I am called Splinter, a name I was given long ago. And these are my sons. I am aware that you have met a few of them already?"

For a brief second, her eyes flicked to Leo, an odd wrinkle in her nose. ''Yes, I have, but I don't know their names."

"Allow me to introduce them to you..." Master Splinter made a small motion and they came to stand shoulder-to-shoulder behind him. To each he indicated with his staff and dubbed them: "Donatello, Leonardo, and Michelangelo." (Donny smiled halfheartedly, Mikey waved in his usual goofy fashion, and Leo...just nodded.) "However, it seems I have momentarily misplaced my fourth son, Rapheal."

"So there are four?"

"Yes." Master Splinter leveled his kind, wise eyes with hers once more. "And now that you know who we are, I must ask that you pay us the same courtesy."

She hesitated, staring at each turtle with that strange pinch in her nose, then met Splinter's calm gaze. "Genevieve."

"Genevieve...?" His father saying her name in his unique dialect made a smile play at the corners of her lips. "It is nice to meet you, Miss Genevieve...?"

There was a bit of an awkward silence. Leo knew Splinter was searching for a last name, but the girl-Genevieve (_what a peculiar name for a girl of modern society_)- was either failing to grasp the inclination or was withholding it. But why...?

"Shall we sit?" asked Splinter, clearing his throat. "There is much I do not know about the events of tonight. Perhaps you would like to help enlighten me?"

She seemed relieved that she was finally getting answers. "Okay. I have a lot of questions too..."

"In time, they will be answered." He eased himself into an armchair, laying his staff in his lap. Donny took the other chair and Genevieve begrudgingly had to share the couch with Mikey. He, Leo, remained standing out of personal preference.

They listened as the two explained the same situation from different points of view. What first sounded like a run-of-the-mill mugging became something more...sinister. Genevieve choked in her encounter at the part where she and her parents had been hauled into the alley and couldn't continue. The rest was then told by Mikey, who filled them in on everything right up to when Leo had caught him. Yet he somehow neglected to tell the fates of her parents.

"But that doesn't make sense!" Don objected. ''Why would a bunch of Purple Dragons target someone and then shoot them before they got what they wanted?"

"I don't know," said Mikey, shaking his head, "it doesn't make sense to me either."

_Something's missing. Something she's not telling us._ Leo knew he wasn't being paranoid, there were just too many holes in the picture. Holes this girl could finish painting in.

"What happened to my parents?" She'd drawn her legs up to her chest and was resting her chin on her kneecaps. "You can tell me," she said to her toes.

Mikey opened his mouth, closed it. Stared off at nothing. That was the look Leo was afraid to see. "They're dead," he croaked. "I'm so sorry. Raph and I...didn't get there in time."

A single tear fell from under Genevieve's closed eyelids.

Silence loomed over them for an immeasurable amount of time.

"I...guess I knew it...I just...was hoping..."

Master Splinter rose and placed a hand atop her head. "There has been much devistation tonight...I cannot express to you in words the remorse I feel for your loss."

More tears followed the first. She buried her face in her knees.

"Is there anything we can do for you?"

A small shake of her head.

Such a pitiful sight...Leo wished there truly was something they could do. However uncertain he was at her identity, she was hurting. This girl... Genevieve.

"It is late," said Splinter, gently removing his hand, "and it is clear that you need to sleep. Grief consumes energy like a parasite draws blood. Sleep replenishes the body, and soothes the mind...You may spend the night here if you wish, Miss Genevieve."

Later that night, Leo retired to his room, exhausted and deep in thought. They'd made Genevieve as comfortable as they could on the couch and now Master Splinter was giving Mikey a lecture.

Raph had yet to come home. Given the events of the night, they'd be lucky to see him before dawn.

Something his father had said kept cropping up on Leo. Sleep replenishes the body and soothes the mind. How long had it been since he, Leo, had truly slept? Weeks, maybe. Not that his family was aware of it. Each of them had their secrets...this was one of his.

Sure, sleep could do wonders for you. Finding it wasn't always easy. Spending multiple hours each night being plagued by images and thoughts that haunted your waking hours wasn't always easy. And when you wake up as anxious and worn as you did when you fell asleep...

Well, you might as well stay awake...


	3. Chapter Two

**Here's Chapter Two!  
Thank you to all my reviewers! (Especially Livangel16!)  
Okay, just gonna throw this out there, I'm willing to take requests for this fanfic. I know where the plot's going and it will get there, promise, but I'm not afraid to consider and include the ideas of my readers. ;)  
Enjoy!  
~AniLouBenz**

* * *

I never mentioned I couldn't sleep on couches. Well, I can in extreme cases (guess this was as extreme as it'd ever get) but I don't really SLEEP sleep. It's just so damn uncomfortable for me: I'm so used to stretching out on an expensive bed.

Another part of me just couldn't bring it up and make a fuss for these people...or, creatures. Laying there in the ''living room'', I really tried to fall asleep. Heaven knew I needed it. But the more I attempted the road to Dream Land, the more it alluded me.

Instead my mind replayed the last few minutes of my parents' lives. Again and again, chopped images would flash behind my closed eyelids. _Flash!_ Mom being shot point-blank. _Flash!_ Dad's frightening snarl. _Flash! _The gun turned on HIM. The same images: mixed up and replayed again and again, each time pushing me closer to a panic attack.

It was when I realized I was crying-my face buried in the pillow, body shaking from head to toe, hands clenched white around the flowery pillowcase-that I decided I couldn't sleep here. Not on this couch, not in this place full of giant talking animals.

I had to get out.

But...there was nowhere for me to go now.

The one turtle guy who saved me-Michelangelo, I think-should've tipped off the police, right? That meant media, search parties, the country mourning the loss of a senator and wondering: what happened to the senator's daughter? If I went back, I'd have to deal with all the hype, something that made me sick just thinking on it.

I paced in front of the couch. Right, left, armrest: turn, left, right, left, armrest: turn. Moving and forcing myself to use brain cells seemed to help keep the images away, so I kept it up.

I had nowhere to live, nothing to go home to. Mom had a brother, but I'd never even seen him before and I had a feeling the government would try to push me into his custody. Or my grandparents.

Sadly, the only grandparent I had who wasn't in a nursing home or resting in peace by now was my grandpa on Dad's side. And, well, I had never seen eye-to-eye with him. He had been the one who pushed my father from an early age to become a senator. Actually, he wanted him to become President. I blamed him for Dad's absence from most of my life. And if anyone thought I'd live with him now, they'd have to think again.

Which left the orphanage and/or foster care. No offense to lil' Annie who dreamed of tomorrow and was adopted by a rich man who really loved her, but I doubted anyone would want to adopt me. Or even be my foster family. A sixteen-year-old with an attitude, who's parents were murdered? Not likely.

_Damn._ I stopped mid-step. Murdered. My stomach turned so fast I collapsed against the sofa cushions. That's what they were now.

Dead.

Murdered.

Gone.

Tiny points of light danced along my vision...I was hyperventilating now.

To the protest of my body, I staggered up again, stood there swaying 'til the lights went away. No more pace-n-ponder, I needed a bathroom. Cool water splashed on my face. Something to calm me down so I could sleep.

No one told me where the bathroom was though. So I started to wander, hoping that there was a bathroom and that the...residents of this place didn't just drop trousers in the sewer.

The rat was wearing _clothes!_ Clothes! If these guys were that civilized, then there had to be a bathroom here somewhere.

I found what I guessed was the kitchen. Only way I could tell was from the illuminated time on the microwave. (Two am. Great.) But there wasn't a bathroom.

There was, however, a set of stairs I discovered by tripping over them and bruising my shins. Now I really needed a bathroom or even just some damn LIGHT!

I sat on the bottom step, wincing as I felt broken skin and stickiness. _PLEASE_ _let there be a bathroom at the top of these stairs._

In order to get up said stairs involved some crawling and cursing, each step sending pain up my legs. I couldn't see my scrapes; I couldn't see my surroundings; hell, I didn't even know there were stairs in the first place!

_Give me a bathroom! Give me light or I swear I'll jump from the top step!_

To my intense relief, there was a hallway-a whole second landing- stretching away from me. And at the end of that hallway, pooling dimly through an open door, was the blessed light I'd been seeking.

Dragging myself upright, I paused. What if someone was sleeping...or not...in that room? One of those turtle guys or the rat...?

Fear gripped my stomach, sent the pulse pounding in my ears. Would they hurt me? I doubted it, considering they saved me and brought me here...The rat had been nice. I prayed if I encountered anyone, it would be the rat-Splinter.

I recognized the light. It spoke of fancy restaurants and rare dinners with both parents, spent in silence.

Candlelight.

Not daring to breathe, my head poked around the door frame. (More of an archway, really, as there wasn't an actual door.) Inside the room, candles had been lit and set on the floor, on shelves, and on a bedside table. Most of them had burned out.

There was a bed against one wall. Uninhabited... but the room wasn't, fore my eyes had locked on a shadowy figure sitting cross-legged among the candles. Facing me, I think, yet they were either asleep or didn't know I was looking in his bedroom.

Too bulky to be my friend Splinter. One of the turtles, but it was too dark to tell and I couldn't remember names well...

"Are you looking for something?" I jumped violently. Damn, I forgot they could _talk._

The turtle peered at me through the light of the remaining candles. Clearly awake and mildly pissed, by the sound of his voice.

''Is there something you need?" He asked again.

Opening my mouth, I tried to speak but nothing would come. He continued to regard me as I crept into full view, deliberately staying in the hallway and not crossing the thresh hold into this guy's space.

A small sigh escaped him and he moved, which made me jump again. He paused, his hand outstretched toward the bedside table, before there was a click and a lamp lit up the room.

I blinked against the sudden brightness and took him in as he continued to do the same to me. Skin the most interesting shade of green...shell and plastron of a turtle...yet _three-fingered _hands and toes...muscular arms and legs...and human eyes behind a blue mask...

"I don't bite, you know.'' It was a whisper, but it confused me. Like he was humoring my fear. He stood and stretched, taking a seat instead on the edge of the bed. ''And I don't plan on hurting you either. Although why my brother brought you back here, after the countless lectures we got the last time, is beyond me."

I stared at my feet, embarrassed and greatly regretting my decision to try and find...

''Um...'' My voice wavered, "I...was looking for the bathroom...?"

He raised what I imagined to be a turtle's version of eyebrows.

"So you can talk.'' He mused, chuckling a little. "I'm surprised no one showed you before."

"Oh, yeah no one showed me." It had taken me a sec to realize he had meant where the bathroom was, not my ability to speak.

With grace not unlike a cat, he leapt from the bed and crossed the room. I stepped back a few feet to let him pass me, still wary of him despite his semi-reassurance.

We headed back the way I had come, him leading and me following at a good distance. At the top of the stairs-yes _the_ stairs that claimed a layer of my skin-he opened a door and flicked on a switch, holding out an arm as if to say, _here we are, ta-da!_

I blushed and hurried inside. Idiot me, blinded by the dark.

"I'm supposing you'll need these?" He held up a large box of band-aides from the doorway and tossed them at me.

Mistake. The box glanced off my fingers and I watched it tumble, in all Hollywood's slow motion glory, toward the floor.

An ''oh shit'' was building on my lips when a green hand caught it just before it hit tile.

Stupidly, I blinked at the floor a few times before I lifted my eyes to him.

He wasn't that much taller than me. We were practically on eye level with each other. And...he was smiling a lip-less smile.

I eased back a bit without thinking.

''Honestly, you don't have to be afraid of me. Or any of us, for that matter,'' he said, this time offering me the bandages, which I took after a pause. "Those are some mighty scratches you've got there, by the way.''

For the first time, I got a decent look at my shins...and winced. I hated blood, but I hated pain even more. Funny how seeing an injury seems to make it feel worse...

Perched gingerly on the closed lid of the toilet, I dabbed at the blood with a wad of toilet paper. He watched, leaning against the sink with crossed arms.

"So you're Genevieve." Not a question.

I wrinkled my nose. "Eve."

''Eve?"

"My nickname. I hate having a long name."

That made him smirk. "Believe me, I completely understand."

"Why? You, uh, guys have nicknames too?"

"Yeah," he said, opening a towel cabinet and rummaging around in it, "because saying 'Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo' can get tiring." He pulled out a washcloth and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I felt extremely grubby right then. "So what name should I use for you?" _You know, cause I'm bad at names and calling you 'Turtle Boy' isn't very nice._

"Call me Leo, if you want." For the first time, I noticed the color of his eyes. Chocolate brown? Mahogany? Maybe a mixture, kinda like my hair? "...just leave you to get cleaned up," he was saying, "You've been through a lot in the past few hours."

"Um...okay." He turned to go.

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

_How can I word this without creeping him out?_ (...I was worried about weirding out a giant, walking, talking turtle!) "Can you...stay nearby? I don't really want to be alone right now..."

Another no-eyebrow raise."I'll be in my room," was all he said and he left, closing the door behind him.

_Huh. Leo...kind of like the astrology sign_, was all I could think while I finished doctoring my shins. I looked down at the washcloth in my lap. _He's nice, for a turtle. _I almost felt bad for screaming at him earlier.

I ran some warm water in the sink, avoiding my reflection. My arms were showing bruises already. There was one shaped like a hand; it encircled my upper arm, four purple-blue fingers and a thumb imprinted in my skin. I could wash away the dirt but I couldn't wash those away...

My new dress was ruined. Seams had been yanked loose; the fabric was ripped in places, stained in others. There were even holes in my leggings, which didn't make sense to me.

It saddened me, seeing my clothes trashed as they were. Mom had insisted on buying me something new for when we went out with Dad. I never even paid attention to the brand, but I knew it had been expensive. (It had a European feel to it.)

_She's gone...I can't believe they're really gone._ I made the mistake of looking in the mirror.

First thing I noticed was how...bright and wild my eyes were. Almost animal-like. And my hair! Knotted, limp, dull...and I didn't have a brush to fix it. There were also bruises on my face-marring my jawline and shadowing my cheekbones. My neck was an odd color too, from the bozo's arm squeezing it.

I left the bathroom feeling rather refreshed, despite the depressing marks on my body and destroyed dress.

Leonardo was sitting among his candles again when I walked in, though this time the lamp was still on and he didn't look like he was trying to meditate.

"So," he said from the floor, "feel better?"

I blushed a little. Was I ever going to get used to the whole turtle thing? "Yeah, thanks." I didn't want to just walk over and sit on his bed and the floor didn't look very inviting, so I stood awkwardly in the middle of nowhere.

After a few seconds of silence, he stood too. "Come on, I'll show you back to the living room."

''Oh...okay." I _really_ didn't want to go back there.

He laughed and I almost hit the ceiling. God, he could laugh too! (_Should've figured, idiot._)

"Don't look so excited!" He chortled.

My face grew hot of its own accord. "I-I'm not."

He...Leo was back serious just like that. "Why, what's bothering you?"

I hesitated, ashamed of the fact I was unable to sleep. Then again, I was keeping _him_ up too. "It's...nothing."

For a moment, he just stared at me, probably trying to read my expression. "Follow me," he said. "I'll make you some tea."

"Oh! Um, alright."

"And then maybe you can tell me what you're hiding." He smiled over his shoulder and my heart squeezed with something. Fear...? I didn't know.

In the kitchen, he set a kettle of water to boil. I watched from a bar stool as he pulled various boxes and canisters from the cupboards.

"What kind would you like? We've got green tea, black tea-"

"Ooh, do you have chai?"

"You bet."

"Good, 'cause it's one of the only kinds I'll drink."

He laughed again. "Instant okay?"

"Sure, I'm not picky."

"Uh-huh, of course you're not."

He was using sarcasm! "Hey, just because my family has money-"

I didn't get the chance to finish because he placed a steaming mug of my third favorite hot beverage under my nose.

"There you go. Careful, it's pretty hot."

"Thanks." I took the extra precaution of blowing on it a few times before taking a sip. The warmth from it spread through my entire body. "It's great!"

"Well, it is instant," he said, all humble while sipping his own tea. "And I can't make much else."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He set his mug down and ran the back of his hand across his mouth. "Master Splinter does most of the cooking. Don's not too bad at it, but Mikey, Raph and I have...difficulties producing anything edible."

"Wow. So wait, Don, Mikey, and Raph are your brothers?"

"Yes."

"How did that...happen? I mean, how did you guys...?"

Leo sighed.

_Maybe I hit a touchy subject?_

"It was an...accident. A genetic mutation. I'm sure Master Splinter will explain everything tomorrow. He does a better job of telling it." He verbally closed the door on that topic.

We sipped our tea in silence for a time. I was halfway through mine when he finished his.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Um, sure?" I replied. _What can he possibly want to know about me? _

"What is your last name?"

Oh. "Why do you ask?"

He gave me a hard look. "Because either you're not bright enough to grasp an implication or you're withholding something. Would you like to know which one _I_ think it is?"

I shook my head, staring into the murky surface of my tea. So he'd caught that. But he was assuming the wrong things! I wasn't _withholding _anything.

"Well?"

"My last name is Day." I had to swallow a few times. "I wasn't trying to hide it."

"Then why wouldn't you say it before?"

I stopped my wringing hands, placed them on the counter in front of me, only to throw them up in exasperation. "I don't know! Maybe I felt you didn't need to know it yet! I mean, I wasn't told yours so why-"

"Hamato."

"Huh?"

''My last name is Hamato."

"Oh..." Inside, I felt like a balloon full of anger...that had been deflated with one word.

"It's Japanese." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Just another part of the big story... Are you done with that, by the way?"

I wordlessly gave him my cup. Everything from this nightmare of a day had hit me all at once. I almost did a face-plant off my stool while he set the mugs in the sink.

"So I'm guessing you're ready to sleep now?"

"Hmmm?" He was grinning at me.

"You couldn't sleep, could you?"

"How...how did you know?"

"Not that hard to figure out." Leo shrugged. "Besides, I guess you could say I know what you're going through."

Together we left the kitchen, me trying to put one foot in front of the other and him walking with such grace I couldn't even hear his footsteps.

"Whatdaya mean?" I asked, a yawn altering my sentence.

"The haunting thoughts, nightmares-and not just the dream ones either- cold sweats, adrenaline rushes when you're trying to fall asleep...I've been there."

"Oh...I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Just...do me a favor and don't tell my family."

I flopped down on the couch. "Mmmm? Why?"

"Because I'm the oldest," he said, taking a seat in the armchair Splinter had sat in earlier, "I have to set a good example, be the leader...of sorts."

_But you shouldn't have to hide things from your family_, I meant to say. What came out was something like, "Bot, yoo shud't 'av t 'ide hings..."

I don't think I even finished the sentence.

The last thing I remember before I drifted into the most blissful sleep I'd had in years was the feel of a blanket being drawn over me...and the image of a large turtle disappearing into the darkness, the tails of his blue bandana fluttering behind him.

* * *

**...I think I got Leo's last name right, correct me if I'm wrong...**


End file.
